


you first

by klaviergavout



Category: Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Age Changes, Alternate Universe - College/University, Angst, Elemental Magic, M/M, bunnymund is a shapeshifter and toothiana and north are both humans, jack and pitch are elementals but NOT guardians
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-16
Updated: 2019-03-16
Packaged: 2019-11-19 13:01:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,078
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18136082
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/klaviergavout/pseuds/klaviergavout
Summary: jack can't understand why pitch keeps hurting people.





	you first

**Author's Note:**

> for my amazing lovely wonderful girlfriend who is possibly the biggest pitchfrost shipper ever, don't even fight me on this guys because i WILL win
> 
> seriously though, i'm sorry i couldn't make this more happy. i just wrote what felt more natural to me ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ that said i actually haven't watched guardians in a good few years now, so if anything is REALLY ooc then i'm sorry about that. i hope i did it justice and i hope you enjoy!! <3

if you went up and asked him, jack frost would say that he has an incredibly typical student life; most of the time he's attending lectures, eating instant noodles, partying hard and studying harder. when he's not nose-deep in his teacher training course, he's working part-time in what could be described as the most stereotypical coffee shop in existence. it's filled to the brim with chairs and stools and sofas, all of which are shades of deep cream and chocolate to match the homemade pastries that line the countertops. there aren't enough plug sockets but more than enough bookshelves, chocked-full of old, musty books that haven't been touched in years. low-hanging lights throw a dim orange glow across the whole establishment, and as if to compliment this aura, a particularly pungent smell of coffee and caramel and nutmeg lingers in the air. it's as if the whole place was literally taken verbatim from a bad romance novel and he couldn't make it up if he tried - just like the fact that he _just so happens_ to be called jack frost and he _just so happens_ to also have ice powers, you know, like every other regular nineteen-year-old student who shares a name with the personification of winter.

he's not _the_  jack frost; he reckons that if he was he'd have known from birth, that he would have been swept up by the gods well before he'd learnt how to walk and instead been put to use making snow for the rest of his life. the past nineteen winters have all come and gone without any of his input, so he knows his powers aren't his job - they probably came from a mutation or something, a freak accident of nature, though he is a little suspicious as to how a flaw in human DNA would let him physically conjure up ice. but it's not like he's some magical guardian who lives above the clouds, he's just plain old jack frost, a elemental with a very unfortunate name.

and because he intends to keep funding his incredibly typical student life, he needs to make some money. so here he is, spending his friday night working the evening shift at the coffee shop.

jack would much rather be living his best life at one of tiana's huge house parties. tonight's celebration is her famous _Easter Event_ , which means chocolate-themed drinks and snacks as well as a copious amount of cheesy europop music, and she's been gushing about it all month. more than anything jack appreciates a good time, so of course he'd made plans to go. he'd even bought an extra-extra-large pack of marshmallows for the chocolate fountain. but two hours before he was set to go his boss, nicholas, an old and sprightly man who looks a little bit like santa claus, had phoned him on the verge of tears. jack listened with a growing sense of sympathy as nick told him that his daughter had a really bad fever and he had to stay at home and could jack please take his shift. jack couldn't just say no to a desperate single father. he had taken the shift on the spot.

the cafe is empty save for a group of older students sat in the corner of the room, furiously typing out last-minute assignments. jack is at least glad his own deadlines are a few months from now; he'd much rather be working than writing. that said, since the whole place is practically empty, he's got nothing to do except shove marshmallows in his face- he might not be able to get to tiana's party but he sure as hell is not going to let twenty dollars go to waste.

jack is about an eighth of the way through the gigantic bag when the doorbell rings, and in walks the edgiest person he's ever seen - black hoodie, black sweatpants, black hair, black shoes, black everything. he's practically a black _hole_ , a drain of life where all colour comes to die. the only characteristics that stand out on the man are his pale, pallid skin and yellow eyes. wait, yellow?

"contacts," drones the man, having reached the counter. "they're contacts."

jack realises much too late that he's been staring into the stranger's eyes but even when he tears his gaze away and apologises, the memory of what he saw - searing yellow irises with flecks of silver, eclipsed by deep black pupils - is burned into the back of his mind. he's in no position to judge this guy's eye colour considering he can literally shoot snow out of his hands, but he's pretty sure that those aren't contacts. it's not like he's going to point that out, though, so he settles on asking what the guy wants to drink.

"iced cappuccino. tall. almond milk. two shots of salted caramel. and _please_ don't give me a cardboard straw, they're absolutely useless."

the words roll off his tongue with a haughty air, obviously rehearsed, and jack thinks, _man, this guy is pretentious. and edgy. and weird. and rude. and his eyes are fucking yellow._ so jack decides to mess him about a little, grabbing the nearest pen (a bright red sharpie) from under the counter.

"can do. what's your name?"

they don't ask for names at jack's coffee shop, and so quite rightly the stranger stares at him like he's gone mad. "what's my name?" he repeats, confusion dead set on his face, yellow eyes shocked open. jack stifles a laugh, resisting the urge to say _i don't know, what IS your name_ and begins tapping out the man's order on the cash register.

"i need your name so i can put it on the cup. you ever been to starbucks? same sort of thing." the cash register makes a happy little mechanical noise as if in agreement, and prints the receipt - as it turns out, the very pretentious iced cappuccino is worth three dollars and ninety-nine cents, almost _five times_ cheaper than jack's extra-extra large bag of marshmallows. slightly awed at this fact, jack holds out his hand to receive the money. "so what's your name, hotshot?"

"pitch," spits the stranger at last, shoving a five dollar bill into jack's outstretched hand, clearly displeased with being called _hotshot_. and that's when it happens - something happens to him, something really weird. those yellow eyes _flash_ and all at once jack is plunged into a horrible, _horrible_ mood. his stomach drops and churns, his heart beats fast and panicked and his brain swarms, full of negative thoughts. he doesn't want to be here, he doesn't want to be anywhere. he wants out out out. he's never felt so bad so suddenly and it scares him.

worst of all pitch actually smiles. it's barely there, a ghost of a thing, just teasing at the corners of his chapped, grey lips, but jack sees it and his mood only drops further. it feels like a smack in the face.

"keep the change," pitch says, and jack doesn't say anything, can't say anything with his throat all closed up. without a single word in response he turns away and begins making the order.

* * *

jack has never made an iced cappuccino that fast before. when pitch leaves the coffee shop, disappearing into the dark night air, he goes straight for his phone and brings up his recent contacts. all of his closest friends are no doubt going to be busy at tiana's patented _Easter Event_  but jack doesn't care, he needs answers and he needs them right now, so he calls up the one person who might understand the situation.

"hey, jackamo! thought you were coming to tiana's tonight, what's up with that?" the thick australian accent fills jack with such a sense of relief that he tears up before he can even stop himself.

"aster, hi. yeah, i was gonna come. i got held up with work. sorry." jack takes a deep breath, leans on the counter, clutches his phone like a lifeline. "listen, i need to know if you know anyone called _pitch._ he's our age. tall and thin. wears all black. bright yellow eyes."

aster doesn't respond for a good while and jack feels his heart sink. you see, aster is not only two years his senior, but he's also a shapeshifter; he found this out at age five when he wished he could fly like a bird and lo and behold, became one. unlike jack who only uses his powers sporadically, aster has trained himself to shapeshift into humans, animals and objects alike, and shapeshift back with ease. despite the fact that he's the most powerful person jack has ever met, aster's favourite form is that of a tiny, cutesy little bunny rabbit - but he does have buck teeth, so it only makes sense.

"wait, are you talking about _pitch black?_ "

jack recalls pitch's all-black ensemble and _screams._

"yes yes yes oh my god that's him." jack sends an apologetic look to the now-distracted group of students in the corner before continuing in a more hushed voice, "what's his deal? is he magic?"

"never talked to him before but i've seen him around. definitely looks magic to me. why, what's he done?"

jack recounts the whole cappuccino situation in fine detail, not wanting to miss anything out in case aster could explain why he'd felt so bad, and it takes much longer than expected. he ends his long spiel with a simple, " _and_ he told me to keep the change. what the fuck is wrong with him?"

"sneaky little bugger," says aster and jack can feel his anger through the phone, through his voice, low and growling. "jack, it sounds like shadow magic. pretty damn strong magic at that. you sure you're okay?"

"yeah, i'm okay," jack replies, definitely not feeling okay. of course, shadow magic. pitch is an elemental. it all makes sense now. and then jack has an idea. "wait, d'you think i should go and--"

"no, are you crazy? don't you _dare_ seek him out. do you want to get killed?"

"of course not, but--"

"then keep away from pitch black. y'hear me?"

jack hears a pained sigh on the other end of the phone and feels a little pang of guilt for his friend. he knows aster is just trying to look after him, sure, but pitch black is an elemental too. jack isn't just about to allow someone who's very much capable of dark magic to hold a grudge against him for the rest of his life. just as he's about to express this fact, aster pipes in with a much more cheerful "now if you'll excuse me, mate, this bunny has an easter party to get back to," and hangs up.

* * *

the next time jack sees pitch black, he is, in fact, ice skating. well, sort of. he'd gone to take a walk in the park to clear his head, bored to death revising all the strengths and limitations of vygotsky's theory of child development, but he'd felt like doing a bit more than just look at the lake. jack promptly froze the whole thing over with the argument that, well, it was a very cold morning anyways. it wouldn't be that out of place. and if anyone saw him glide gracefully across the ice, having ditched his shoes by the side of the lake, jumping and turning and flying through the air? well, they'd have a great day gushing about a story no sane person would actually believe.

something snaps him out of his routine. a familiar voice, a familiar pain, a familiar feeling in the pit of his chest. jack touches back down and spots the source almost immediately, a horrible eyesore amongst the greens and blues of the landscape. it's pitch black, and he's not alone. two children stand below him and they're crying loudly, little weak bodies trembling with fear.

jack can't stand it.

not caring who sees him or what sees him or what pitch might do to him he launches himself into the air on a gust of winter wind and leaps forward, landing between pitch and the children within seconds. "what is your problem?" he yells, shoving pitch backwards. "leave them alone."

pitch snarls down at him, sharp teeth glinting in the sunlight - and yep, that confirms it, he's definitely not human - but he looks almost hurt at jack's words. "get away from me!"

that's weird. pitch was smiling at the coffee shop, but now? he looks pained. like he didn't want this to happen. still, jack presses on, trying to ignore all the negative feelings bubbling up inside of him as a result of pitch's magic. "you really have no shame, huh, big guy? first me, then these kids--"

" _you_ hurt _me_ first!" pitch shouts, eyes ablaze, gesturing not only to jack but to the kids as well. what? jack turns around and the children sniffle and squirm awkwardly, looking askance. he can't quite understand how the two of them, both much younger than he is, could have hurt pitch in any way, but they certainly look guilty enough. as if sensing jack's confusion, pitch carries on with a whine of, "why am i always the one who gets blamed?"

and jack turns around again to face pitch. "obviously because they don't have _powers_ \--"

"you have powers," pitch seethes through his teeth, "so i don't know why you're here trying to tell me what i can and can't do."

earlier, when jack had justified his barefoot ice-skating turned flying session with the idea that a witness would never be able to convince anyone it was real, he hadn't really accounted for pitch black being said witness. jack cringes a little but it relieves him more than it frightens him to think that pitch black, the absolute asshole who used shadow magic on him in pure cold spite, stood at the edge of that lake and watched him at his most vulnerable -- and did absolutely nothing. he wonders why that is.  
  
instead of carrying on about the two children, who are both long gone at this point, jack attempts another line of questioning, one that isn't so... presumptuous. 

"you do know i was just messing about at the cafe, right?" jack asks softly. he feels like he needs to clarify this, because after all, the "you hurt me first!" was directed at him too.

except he doesn't get to clarify anything, because one blink of his eyes is all it takes for pitch to make his exit.

* * *

the _next_ time jack sees pitch black, it's on campus, surprisingly enough. him and aster and tiana are walking through the quad, minding their own business, doing nothing of importance. tiana is rambling on about gossip she's heard, as well as some of her past romantic conquests -- all of her anecdotes are pretty strange and jack is becoming more and more uncomfortable by the second -- and aster is beaming ear to ear with a toothy grin, still high off the buzz of eating five whole easter eggs in one sitting, the sugar rush and the adrenaline taking a joint toll on him. jack can't believe aster has such good metabolism that he can handle that number of chocolate eggs without issue.

tiana continues. "so that's how i got back with my fifth-- oh hey, jack, look, it's that guy you keep talking about! hi! yoohoo! yellow eyes!"

pitch, who was also walking through the quad, minding his own business, doing nothing of importance, stops short. stares. he turns around slowly and, despite tiana having called out to him, he meets jack's gaze. even from meters away, jack feels a chill run through him; but this time it's a different kind of chill, something involuntary, something that isn't dark magic.

something a bit like--

but jack can't think anymore because all of a sudden pitch runs, and it's like a switch turns on in his head, a switch that says _go go go_ and jack runs right after him, stumbling over cracks in the pavement, and aster tries to grab his arm and stop him but it's far too late.

he propels himself forward on a cold gust of air and just as he's about to catch up, pitch engulfs himself in a whirl of shadow and disappears. thoroughly disappointed, jack puts both feet down -- only to be swept right off them again when pitch hurtles towards him and collides with his ribcage, pushing them both through the air until jack's back meets one of the outdoor lockers, denting it so hard that it caves in.

(being pressed against a locker? again with the romance novel cliches. jack is starting to get very suspicious.)

"why can't you just take the hint and leave me the fuck alone," snaps pitch, grabbing jack's chin and forcing him to look up, up and into his eyes. this time he does use his shadow magic, properly this time, and the pain is so much worse, so much worse. "you're so frustrating. why do you care about me so much? do you think i want to keep hurting you like this?"

"yes," says jack simply, and pitch tenses up with a surge of pure anger, and the sadness and distress that overtakes jack then burns deep in his chest. tears stream down his face as he chokes out a sob, absolutely overwhelmed with pain, whispering _stop stop stop stop_ and then suddenly pitch is -- pitch is trying to _kiss_ him, thin black lips pressed onto his but it's not at all romantic, it's not remotely cliche, it's just pitch venting all his anger and frustration out without trying to hurt jack any more than he already has. jack formulates a plan within seconds. it involves him kissing back at first, albeit letting pitch do most of the work. that being said, he does grab pitch's arms in order to pull him closer, and pitch lets out a whine so desperate that jack almost feels bad for what he's about to do. and then all of a sudden he tunes out the kiss entirely, focuses solely on that unbearable pain, tries to dispel it, tries to give it all back--

and succeeds.

silence, as the two of them separate.

"I told you," says pitch at last, staring down at his chest, where a huge chunk of ice encapsulates the area around his heart. "you hurt me first."

at last jack understands.


End file.
